Uruguay senator seeks to enable nighttime searches for serious crimes

Senator Javier García of Uruguay's National Party has reignited a debate on security by proposing to allow nighttime searches during serious crimes. Speaking at the National Alliance Party's congress, García stated his sector would initiate talks with other parties to revisit the idea, emphasizing the need for constitutional and legal frameworks to ensure justice.

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If the Frente Amplio is willing to sit down and talk to allow it within the framework of the Constitution and the law, with the precise regulation that allows the necessary guarantee of Justice, so that one can search at night when there is a serious crime, here is the National Party.

This initiative seeks to amend the constitution, which currently protects homes as inviolable spaces, especially at night. A similar proposal was put to voters in the October 2024 national elections via a plebiscite but was rejected by over 60% of citizens. García expressed a desire to discuss the matter "without the urgencies of the past and with the time we have now."

Beyond security, García also directed criticism at President Yamandú Orsi, stating that the president "does not take responsibility" for the nation's issues. He argued that leadership requires addressing problems directly, asserting that "Uruguayans do not feel well" due to perceived limitations on their freedom caused by organized crime operating where the state is absent.

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Exercising leadership is not optional or voluntary. The president must take responsibility for the country's problems; that is why he was elected.

The National Alliance Party's declaration echoed these sentiments, blaming the government's "inaction" and "lack of leadership" for growing social unrest and the "unleashed violence" that has encroached on state authority in neighborhoods. The party also criticized the government's economic policies and internal coalition disputes, which they claim create uncertainty and deter investment.

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Uruguayans do not feel well, because when one's integrity or life is threatened, one is not free. Society's freedom is limited because there are groups, there are mafias, that have dedicated themselves to exercising authority where the state does not.